No Trust? No Understanding? Not Friends
by JustAGirlWhoLikesToSayHi
Summary: The four teen superhero charges of S.H.I.E.L.D. had to realize at some point that they weren't the friends they wanted to be for Peter Parker.
1. No Trust? No Understanding? Not Friends

**A/N: **Done mostly for myself and the aggravation at seeing a scant number of fics in the Ultimate Spider-Man section. Set right after the end of episode 12: Me Time. Inspired slightly by something I read on a TV Tropes page.

**Disclaimer:** Rights to the Ultimate Spider-Man and all of its wonderful characters are exclusively for Marvel/Disney/people who are not me.

* * *

Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and all around badass, Nick Fury, glances at his watch. He has 30 more minutes to keep the video files of Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, in existence. The laughter that had erupted from the mouths of his four teenaged charges was beginning to subside. Alright. He has let them have their fun.

"I can't believe you agreed to let us watch this, Director Fury," Ava Ayala, a.k.a. White Tiger, crosses her arms now, her usual skepticism finally tearing through her mirthful experience. For his part, Fury just smirks in reply.

Luke Cage, a.k.a. Power Man, groans from his seat next to her, "There's a catch isn't there? There's always a catch."

"Tch, whatevers," Sam Alexander, a.k.a. Nova, is the last of them to cease his rowdy sniggering. He is already thinking of all of the blackmailing he could do with this knowledge! "Whatever you make us do, Fury, watching Petey make a fool out of himself was worth it."

"I just need you to watch one last video."

"Shall we once again be amused by its contents?" Danny Rand, a.k.a. Iron Fist, inquires. Although he was not completely comfortable watching Peter during his private time, he could not deny how humorous some of the things their friend did when he thought he was alone.

"You'll see," Nick Fury answers cryptically as he presses a remote to continue the footage he was showing them. The screen flickers away from the freeze frame of Peter's terrible attempt at mocking Nova to a scene of his bedroom, the lack of long shadows framed by orange light indicating that it was nighttime. Sam frowned at the lack of occupants.

"Hey, where's the Webhead?"

"Shh," Ava sharply raises a hand for him to shut his trap. "This… it isn't like the other clips."

They wait with held breaths for any sign of human life to move into the screen. After what felt like an eternity, a shadow dropped into sight behind the window at the head of Peter's bed. It opened to reveal the lanky form of Spiderman crawling into the room, the faint glow from the street lights outside helping to make out the red and blue tights encasing his frame. Before Nova could utter a rude remark, a pained moan slipped through the past Peter's lips as he plopped head first onto his sheets. The completion of the action was met by another aggrieved noise.

"_Ugh, yes, Spidey, that was such a good idea. Lie on your injured side_," he snarked moodily to himself. With more aggravated groans, he rolled onto his back.

"Oh my lord…"

Underneath the shredded and tattered remains of his costume was a horrendous sight. A gaping gash adorned the teen's torso, barely managed by a makeshift bandage of webbing. Even with the tightly wrapped web, blood had seeped through, a blotch of striking scarlet against the stark white substance. For a minute, they thought he had gone to sleep, but he took off his mask and sucked in a shaky breath. Surprisingly, he laughed, "_I am so glad Aunt May is out for the night and tomorrow. How would I explain the bloody trail leading to her house? Not to mention the ruined bed sheets. Whelp, at least 'once again, the city is saved by your friendly neighborhood Spiderman' who should seriously stop talking to himself and get some sleep._"

Director Fury interprets that as the time to stop the video. Silence continues to fill the room to an almost unbearable level.

Surprisingly, Danny is the one to break the oppressive silence, his voice barely above a whisper, "What happened after?"

"Thanks to his powers, he woke up the next day with most of the damage healed over. He was incredibly sore, but he was still able clean up his mess and complete his schoolwork well before his aunt returned home in the afternoon."

"Why didn't he call us?!" Ava gripes, slamming her palms against the table. "We're a team. We're supposed to be helping each other out!"

"He's supposed to trust us," Luke bites out, eyebrows knitted together in frustration. He felt more than a little ill at seeing such a grievous wound on his teammate.

"Why?" Fury queries, his face like stone.

"Why?!" Sam sputters, arms gesturing wildly in every direction. "We're friends!"

"Really, now?" the Director raises his eyebrows as if he was surprised. "Tell me. What do you know about Peter?"

"Peter Parker, born August 15, 1995, to Richard and Mary Parker, who were pronounced dead 6 years later after the airplane they were on crashed," White Tiger pronounces professionally. "He was taken in by his blood relatives, Benjamin and May Parker. Later, soon after his 16th birthday, he was bitten by a radioactive spider, gaining several superhuman powers."

"When his Uncle Ben was killed by a crook," Iron Fist continues softly. "He assumed the title of Spider-man and has been fighting crime as a vigilante for over a year and continues to do so."

"He's a highly intelligent student who excels in science," Power Man added.

"Yeah, and he's friends with richie-rich Mr. Harry Osborn and reporter-wannabe Mary Jane Watson," Nova yawns, as if everything they were saying was common knowledge.

"And what does he know about all of you?"

"That's easy! He… uh…" Sam scratches his head contemplatively for over a minute, raking his brains for anything good. Drawing a blank, he offers a weak answer. "Knows our names?"

"Our identities and powers, but that's given," Luke shrugs. Nothing had come to him either.

"Our personalities? How we act?" Ava brings up half-heartedly. She could see where this was going and looks to Danny for more help. The monk just sighs and shakes his head, resting his chin on his intertwined fingers while his elbows rest against the metal surface of the table.

"No wonder he doesn't trust us that much."

"That's right," Nick Fury states fiercely, eyeing his charges critically as they realize their mistake. They had expected unwavering trust out a guy who knew next to nothing about their backgrounds, their lives before S.H.I.E.L.D., their personal lives when not at school or in costume. His expression softens as he takes in their forlorn faces and sighs. "All four of you have been together ever since I brought you on the Helicarrier. You act like a group because you are one and consider each other family. Maybe you didn't realize you were doing this, but you alienated Parker. Just because S.H.I.E.L.D. has given you the means to understand everything about him, doesn't mean you do, and it doesn't mean he understand you, either. You are his teammates. You _act_ like his friends, but you have to actually _be_ his friends to truly understand him and for him to understand you. All of you. Do you understand?"

Everyone bobs their heads in assent.

"Good," he turns away from them and brings the remote up to point at the screen. All footage that S.H.I.E.L.D had of Peter Parker in his home is deleted. Permanently.

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**A/N:** Meh. I don't know. I just... really wanted a semi-serious USM fic out there. It's definitely not my best work, but hopefully you enjoyed. Thanks for reading this far. I might have more drabbles about USM later, but... who knows?


	2. What Fury Didn't Show Them

**A/N: **Okay, who else liked the season finale of USM, raise your hands! I felt like explaining the silly things that Peter did in those three clips that were shown of him at the end of "Me Time." Thus, this drabble was born.

**Disclaimer: **The Ultimate Spider-Man is owned by Marvel and Disney and not me.

**Edit: **My dividers weren't showing, so I added different one's.

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The team had retired to bed. Nick Fury stands at the brig of the Helicarrier, staring off into the night sky as the vehicle meanders over the city of New York on autopilot. He sighs, alone with his thoughts and the few S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel occupied by the night shift.

He had not shown them everything.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

One night, Peter had woken from a particularly terrible nightmare in tears. His cries had been heard by his Aunt May, who quickly entered his room to comfort him. Then, he begged, in a fit of childish selfishness, for everything to go back to the way things used to be. To when he was just a nerd with all the time in the world to spend with Harry and Mary Jane. To when his only worries were about school and bullies. To when Uncle Ben was still alive. He had wanted all of that back.

May Parker had just dusted out a big old teddy bear from the closet, uncovered a children's book from the shelves, wiped the tears from her nephew's face, and read to him. Her soothing words had lulled the teen into a nostalgic peace as he hugged the stuffed animal. He had fallen asleep soon afterwards, snoring lightly as the elderly woman kissed him gently on the forehead and returned to her bedroom.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was on a day he had been rooting through the basement, looking for old things to sell for a garage sale. Money was tight, so Peter and May had decided that they were willing to get rid of a few possessions. The teen was rifling through the last boxes, covered in dust and more than ready to hop into the bath, when he found the plastic submarine. When he remembered.

Uncle Ben had gifted it to him years ago when he and May had come to pick him up. It had been the day he learned that his parents had been lost to an airplane crash. At first, young Peter had rejected the toy, choosing instead to lash out in frustration and grief. He had run from them into the rain, away from the home that would never welcome his mom and dad ever again. Soaked to the bone and miserable, the couple had found him sitting under the tree at Mary Jane's house. The Watsons were gone on vacation.

Peter had wordlessly gone with them, shivering even when he was covered by Ben's jacket. They gingerly lead him into their home, got him out of his waterlogged clothes, and placed him into a disconcertingly cheery bubble-filled tub. He was despondent for some time as the hot water warmed his body. Uncle Ben met his eyes, smiling sadly as he placed the gray submarine into the boy's hands.

Overcome with bittersweet nostalgia, Peter had pocketed the toy, finished up with the other boxes, and gone upstairs for a well-deserved bubble bath.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Another time, Peter had returned home, completing tasks angrily as he went about his business. Thankfully, Aunt May was not there to scold him or ask him what was wrong. He wouldn't have been able to explain it truthfully anyway. His problem mainly involved his life as Spider-Man. Huffing fiery breaths, Peter had ranted and paced around his room, running his hand through his hair repeatedly as if the action would calm him down. His supposed teammates were driving him up the wall.

He had kicked at a red bucket that had just been sitting innocently on the floor of the bathroom. Staring at it for a while, his face scrunched up irritably. In a sort of blind rage, he grabbed a roll of duck tape from the medicine cabinet and began piecing random items in the room together until he formed a Nova-like outfit with a jetpack. Gazing into his mirror, he had made faces and mocked Sam, blowing out all of his aggravation. It hadn't taken him long to cool down. Guilt and embarrassment had crossed his features, and his shoulders slumped. He muttered logic to himself as he tore away the adhesive material. If Sam ever found himself without his helmet in a situation, he'd need something to aid him, and a jetpack was a good idea since he was an expert at flying.

Sighing, Peter had put the room into order and left to complete his homework.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. lowers his head and brings up a hand rub his furrowed brow. If the team does not learn to trust Peter with their secrets and he them, Fury fears for the worse.

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**A/N: **Okay, so this story is officially complete. I will place a series of drabbles under another title in the future that tells how Peter and the team became a family (something that was stated heavily in the finale). Thank you for reading this far. Have a nice day! :D


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